Your estate plan can do a lot to protect your assets, and that includes your business. Whether you run a small company of your own or you have an ownership stake in a larger enterprise, a Woodland Hills, California estate planning attorney can help you figure out exactly what you want to happen to your business when you pass away.
How Can an Estate Plan Affect My Business?
When you make an estate plan, you are accounting for all of your assets and what you want to do with them. This includes your business and its associated assets. Even though a business can be separated from the rest of your personal property due to some paperwork, it is still yours at the end of the day. It needs to be passed on to someone when you are gone.
Your estate plan allows you to set rules about what happens to your company when you pass away. There could be many different options available to you, including:
- Passing it down to one or more of your grown children
- Passing it to another loved one who could take it over
- Selling it off and passing the proceeds down to your beneficiaries
- Have partners buy out your share and have that money go to your loved ones
What you decide to do with your company or share of it is mostly your decision to make, but we do recommend that you talk to any business partners and your loved ones before making a final decision. You do not want to leave a company for a beneficiary who does not want to run it, nor do you want to sell off a company if you have a child who wanted to follow in your footsteps.
What Happens to My Business if I Do Not Have an Estate Plan?
If you do not have an estate plan, your business and its assets will get passed down according to California’s rules on intestate succession. This is rarely the ideal situation. Any assets of yours that have not been accounted for in a will or estate plan have to go through the probate process. This can result in your business being split up between your spouse and your kids, or divided between other family members if you have no spouse or direct heirs. This can be a hassle for everyone involved, whether they want to continue on with your business or not.
Do I Need an Estate Planning Attorney?
We recommend talking to an estate planning attorney who can help you get your affairs in order. A proper estate plan can tell the state what you want to do with your business after you have passed away. It can help your family avoid the probate process and it can help them and your business partners avoid any added headaches later on.
Schedule Your Consultation
So contact the Law Offices of Yacoba Ann Feldman and schedule your consultation with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney. We can help you protect your personal and business assets.
